Spindle



May 17, 1932. J, E WHALEN 1,858,607' l SPINDLE Filed April L7, 1928 `1i) `other bodies such as the tubes, cones,

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Patented May 17, 1932 UNITED STATES y Piliinlur` oFFic-E i AJOHN E. wHALEmoF IorkINToN, MASSACHUSETTS, AssIGNoR 'ro sEAMANs sa `c0131; l

COMPANY, OF VHOIl`:I Il'.1\l'TO1\l', MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION 0F MAINE SPINDLE Application led April 17,

spindles for cops,` cones, tubes, bobbins andV the like and is herein illustrated in a spindle for a winding machine adapted to holdpaper tubes thereon to support yarn or Kthe like wound around the tubes.

In various textile machines, such as winding machines, one body such as` a rotatable supporting spindle is provided for holding or bobbins upon which the thread or yarn is wound. These spindles are secured to power-driven apparatus by means of which they may be rotated to turn the tubes to windthe thread. The tubes must be removed and replaced frequently, so that a saving of even a few sec-y onds inthe operations ofremoving and replacing the tubes is important. `If these operations are made easy byl constructing the apparatus so that the tubes lit too loosely, there will be slippage between the tubes and the spindles and improper tension of the thread and generally poor winding willre-` sult.

One object of the invention an improved spindle to land from which a paper tube or the like may beeasily applied and removed and upon which thetube will be securely held. q

Inorder that tubes may be easily applied to such spindles the diameter `of the spindle is made slightly less than 'the internal diame' ter of the tube to prevent 'undue frictionbetween the two as the tube is-applied or rei' moved. On the other hand, the whole object of the spindle is rotatively to support thel tube so that the tube may be driven by power,

applied to the spindle, and accordingly there must not be slippage between the two such as would cause imperfect winding of the thread or yarn. Arrangements have been provided which provide friction members upon the spindle for gripping the inside of` the tube but such friction members necessarily increase the difficulty of applying and removing tubes. Accordingly, an important feature of the invention resides in a driving connection between two bodies in which projectible gripping members in one body are positively expelled by a cam' within said memis to provide i 192s. serial Noraooa.

bers into engagement with the Vother body,

and, when released, are resiliently retracted evenly and in parallel relation.

Still another feature of the inventionresides in novel manually-operable actuating means for causing the expulsionfofthe gripping members in such a spindle and for holding them in expelled position. In the illustrated construction', the spindle is made up of a hollow body slotted-for the reception of elongated,rigid, gripper memberswhich may be expelled into engagement with the inside of a tube. `An actuating device having cams forl engagement with these-gripper members 4is illustrated aslocated inside thel body and provided with a handle which is of the same .external diameter as-the spindle body and thus doesnot interfere with the application or removal of a tube.f The handle shown is l manually movable rotatively to push outthe` gripper members and axially by a spring :to

bring into' engagement complemental ratchet teeth upon the body of the spindle and the handle.

Inthe drawings, f A Fig. l is a longitudinal section through a spindle constructed in accordance with my invention and showing a paper tube wound withthread supported thereon;

' Fig. 2 isk an exploded view showing. the

movable. operating parts yof the device `removed. from the bodyof the spindle; and

Fig. 3 is atransverse section on the line 3 3 of Fig.f1.

The device illustrated in the drawings shows a form of yspindle which is especially adapted for holding a cylindrical pasteboard, paper, or wooden tube, but the principles of the invention may readily be applied to spindles for holding bobbins or for holding cones. The spindle comprises a hollow body 10 of aluminum, to reduce the weight of the rotating parts, and this body is provided with a socket l2having a steel bushingv 14 by Imeans of which the spindle may be mounted upon'the driven member vof a winding machine or the like. kThe body 10 is made hollow throughout the greater part of its length and is slotted aty 16at three points spacedequally around the vperiphery 'of the body. Gripper bars 18 having heads from which project toothed ribs are positioned within the body with said ribs 20 extending through the slots 16 and are adapted to be expelled to press said toothed ribs into engagement with the inside of a tube 22 upon which ultimately thread or yarn 24 will Vbe wound. The gripper bars 18 are recessed at j each end at 26 to receive contractile springs 28 by means'of' which the teeth 20 of the gripper bars are drawirinside the bodyl of the spindle when it is desired to apply or remove a tube.

For the positive expulsion of the gripper bars a shaft 30 Vhas been provided inside the f hollow body 10 of the spindle, which shaft is journaled at one end inV atransverse partiequally distributed around thecircumference- Vof the spindle and along its length'.

into gripping engagement with the inside of a tube 22. Each cam member comprises three similarprojections 43 to vcooperate with the equally spaced gripper bars 18, and when the shaft 30 isr rotated the gripper bars Aare positively pressed Aoutwardly intoV engagement with the tube-With a pressure which is In order that notools may be required for the spindle, so that the operator may-apply Aa tube and lock it in place very-quickly and simply and may as readily unlock thefdevice to remove-the tube, there vis provided a com-V bined actuating and locking handle which is splined to the shaft 30 rby means ofa key 52 which engages al keyway in a-steel sleeve held atone end of the handle 50 by means4 of a set screw 56. The outer surface ofthe handle 50 may be knurled to help the operatorto grip it, even while rotating. On this sleeveandfupon the filler 34 are provided complemental ratchetteeth 58 by means of 1 which the actuating handle 50may`be locked feo in adjusted position. In order that the y handle may be unlocked to rotate the shaft 30 and as readily locked again, it is mounted for axial movement uponthe shaft 30and is normally held in engaging'locked position by means of a spring 60 surrounding the shaft within a recess of the handle and positioned between the bottom of the recess and a screw `V62. Inasmuch as this handle is of the same diameter as the outside `of the spindle body 10 and constitutes an extension thereof, it forms no obstruction to theready removal or application of tubes.

In'the use` of the device, the actuating handle 50 is rotatedto move the projections 43 of the cams away from'the gripper menibers 18 so that the springs-28 will draw said Vforce them into the inside of the pasteboard tube. There is thus no chance for slippage and the handle 50 is automatically locked in adjusted position as the spring 60 forces the complemental ratchet teethV 58Y into interlocking engagement. It will beV noted that a tube shorter than the length of the spindle does Vnot need to be mounted at the bottom of the spindle, asis common in some devices of the prior art, but maybe supported at substantially any art of the length of the spindle because o equalvexpulsion of the gripper members both lengthwise and circumferentially of the spindle.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. Arotatable member for su porting a body having a tube-like passagefl() r rotation therewith, comprising Vgripping members adapted to be expelled into engagement with said body, resilient meansv for retracting said gripping members, a. cam within-said gripping members for expelling said ygripping members, a handle splined to said cam and engageable with. saidbody, and meansfor locking said handle upon contact of the handle with said body. y

2. A rotatable spindle for supporting tubes comprising a body provided with expansible gripping members, manually Voperable means for expanding said .gripping members and holding them in expanded: position, said means having an operating han- I dle which is Vmovable axially and rotatively with respect to said body, means for connecting said handle to said expanding means effective to opera-te the expanding means upon movement of the handle in one direction,

`and means for securing said handle lagainst further movement upon movement thereof in another directiony effective to hold said gripping members in expanded relation.

3. A rotatable spindle for tubes comprising a hollow body provided with peripheralopenings, gripping members extending out through said openings,an actuating device within thev body for expelling said members,

a manually operable handle for'said actuat-V ing device, and ratchet means for locking said handle to said body in a plurality of adjusted positions.

4. A spindle comprising a hollow body, projectible gripping means associated with said body, a rod within the body having members associated therewith for projecting said gripping means Y into engagement with a! tube, and an operating handle slidably .engaging said4 rod and arranged to turn the rod to project the gripping means, said spindle body and said handle having locking devices upon their adjacent surfaces.

5. A rotatable spindle vlor supporting tubes comprising a body provided with expansible gripping members, a manually operable handle carried by said spindle having means for expanding said gripping members, adjacent surfaces of said body and said handle being toothed, and resilient means normally holding said toothed handle against said toothed body.

6. A rotatable spindle for supporting a tube comprising a slotted body, gripping members adapted to be expelled through the slots of the body into enga-gement with a tube, a cam shaft within the body for positively expelling said gripping members, a handle splined to said sha-ft to turn the same, ratchet locking means for said handle, and a spring within the handle tending to slide it into locked position.

7. In combination, a body, and means for effecting a driving connection between said body and another body so that they may be rotated together by power applied to one body, one of said bodies surrounding the other, said means comprising gripping members, positioned in the irst-mentioned body and projectible into engagement with the other body, a cam adapted to be rotated to effect the projection of the gripping members, an operating member for said cam slidable along its axis of rotation, and coperating serrated locking surfaces on said operating member and one body whereby sliding movement of the operating member is eective to lock said cam in a plurality of positions.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

JOHN E. VHALEN. 

